Red Velvet Schmelvet and Lemon Brownies

So I have two rules in my kitchen:

Rule #1 ~ Lick and lick and lick some more.
Rule #2 ~ Don’t make the same mistake twice.

#1, I’ve mastered. #2….well, about the time I think I’ve got it down, I experience a flop of some sort and my ‘incident free zone’ becomes tainted once again.

The first time I made Red Velvet Brownies, they were really good. In fact, I ate ~~a few~~ ~~some~~ most of the pan by myself, even though they weren’t red. Lack of planning left me with an inadequate amount of red food coloring so I played around and landed on an acceptable shade of sage.

So yesterday, I was prepared with red food coloring and cream cheese for frosting. I opted for a recipe with cream cheese swirl for easier transport (I know better than to leave these puppies in my house). But, I made a double batch of brownies with only a single batch worth of red! Next time, these babies are going to be brilliant red. A couple little birdies told me they were delicious in spite so I’ll go ahead and share the recipe link.

Red Velvet Cheesecake Swirl Brownies

AND, last week I made some Lemon Brownies, which were delicious but I didn’t take a photo (should be customary by now, but it’s not). I made a few changes though.
1. I made a double recipe
2. I increased the lemon juice in both the brownie batter and the glaze.
3. I made two batches of the glaze with quite a bit more lemon juice because the sweetness was too heavy. I’d recommend you add what is called for and then taste as you go. I may have even doubled the lemon juice in the glaze, but I didn’t measure. Also, I made a double batch of the glaze for a double batch of brownies, but didn’t use nearly all the glaze and they were perfect.

Sidenote: I used this recipe because I pinned it ages ago, but noticed there are quite a few lemon brownie recipes now. These had more of a cakey texture so I might try a different recipe next time, just for kicks. They are very good though. :-)